Bardo Opens Monday 5pm at 1200 Bladensburg Rd, NE

Back in October 2012 we learned Bardo brewpub would be reopening at 1200 Bladensburg Road, NE in Trinidad. In November 2012 we learned some more details:

Plans for the bar include self serve taps, 500 outdoor seats, a funky building made from shipping containers, and the biggest brewery in the DC area. Bardo Rodeo operated in the 90′s as the largest brewpub in the country. The 22000 sq. ft. facility included 900 indoor & 700 outdoor seats and a 25-barrel brewhouse. As one of the first bars in the Clarendon neighborhood in Arlington VA, Bardo brewed 4000 kegs a year and enjoyed thousands of visitors each weekend.

From the folks at Bardo:

“come by and drink some beer, play some cornhole, watch a movie, and enjoy the summer nights!”

38 Comment

I really don’t see how this place is going to become a destination- at the moment. If it was more south on Bladensburg maybe, but people will have to drive to this spot -meaning less drinking to avoid dui’s etc. Plus it backs up to all residential 4-units and rowhomes. I can envision the kids throwing rocks etc into the courtyard. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Well you must have some serious bad luck b/c ive been to friends houses across different neighborhoods and no rocks have ever been thrown at me. The question is what is the point of bringing this up? Not every child living in rowhomes/multi-units are interested in throwing rocks at ppl.

Not saying it happens often (I did walk there another time with no incident), and I’m not making any generalizations. Of course not everyone is interested in rock throwing. But it’s something you should be cognizant of if you are walking around that particular area.

I agree. I live somewhat close but I would have to drive as you can’t walk out of there after a night of drinking. That road seems like the ideal spot for DC copy to sit and pull over drunks. Easy pickings.

People have to drive to H Street. And this is right down the street from that. I know it seems far before you do it, but I’m pretty sure I can walk it in less than 5 minutes from Beer Garden which is always packed. When you’re waiting in line there for 20+ minutes, what’s to stop you from going right down the street to Bardo instead?

Yes, I’m sure you can walk it, but I would bet that crime(muggings and harassment) will spike in that particular stretch. Unlike the Beer Garden there is nothing else around this place except gas stations, carryouts and liquor stores. I live in the neighborhood and I am happy for this place to be opening, but at the same time I’m being real with my thougths. I would hope for just the opposite to happen where it makes that stretch more safer and rid of some of the loitering etc.

I predict the carryouts will see more of a spike in business than patrons will experience a spike in muggings.

I realize you say you’re being real in your thoughts, but you say you live in the neighborhood. And it’s easy to jump to the conclusion you wouldn’t live there if you were being mugged and harassed all the time, so it’s probably a giant perceived threat while not that legitimate in reality.

I’ve also lived within a few blocks of this place for two years now, and have yet to be mugged or harassed once (hopefully I didn’t just jinx myself). Yes, I admit it was a MAJOR concern of mine when I moved in, but most people I talk to who walk around the area are actually surprised to see how nice and friendly everyone is.

Finally, the pace of change with which I’ve seen new faces in the area is pretty astounding. Especially in the last few months. Hopefully Bardo will make people realize the area really isn’t that scary and can be a good local spot to hang out.

Agree, dcreal. I would love to see this stretch developed but it is definitely a night-day difference from walking down H street. I frequent Jimmy V’s and I like Mother Ruckers but there definitely needs to be a higher density of ‘nicer’ places before most of my friends will feel comfortable walking up there on a regular basis. There are a few carryouts and liquor stores, but trust me no yuppies who are drawn up by Bardo are going to want to go in any of those places, they’re too sketchy.

I was looking forward to this opening (and contributed to their fundraising), but I drove by yesterday on the Bladensburg side and I was confused. The site has no signage, is still surrounded by a decrepit old metal fence, and pretty much looks like an impound lot. It’s still pretty much an eyesore from the street. I thought they would at least paint the shipping containers and build a real bar. I hope they continue improving- I would love to see this become a great destination.

Yeah, it sounds awesome on paper, but after seeing what’s going on up there, it looks like a lot of the details were not very well thought out. While this is probably the last place east of the river that someone could afford to pull off something like this, it’s still a little detached from H Street and the neighborhood is still very much in transition.

I’m skeptical. I can’t imagine that the Pentecostal church next door and the neighbors along the cornhole court know what’s coming or are OK with what’s coming. If the backyard across the alley from my bedroom turned into a 1:00 a.m. cornhole court, forget rocks, I’d be in a shooting mood. Maybe Bardo has all their approvals lined up, I don’t know, but I’d be amazed.

Most people were/are misinformed on the reasonings behind the road blocks that were established. It wasn’t because of neighborhood generated crime. It was to prevent outsiders from coming into the neighborhood and causing trouble. Most likely because few guys(None of them Trinidad residents) drove around the neighborhood one night randomly shooting at people. But unfotunately it left a stigma on the neighborhood.

Trinidad is great. I live there and I love it. It’s Blandensburg Road that needs to catch up. It is the border of the neighborhood and arguably one of the worst parts, if you consider it part of the neighborhood. Which I personally don’t. It’s not a ‘neighborhood’ road, it’s largely industrial and very different from the rest of Trinidad.

Trinidad is in fact a better neighborhood that it was even just 1 year ago. Though in my opionion it wasn’t any worse than any neighborhoods from Columbia Heights eastward on to Trinidad. I live in the south west part of the neighborhood and I truly enjoy it.